If you've ever heard the phrase “According to Hoyle,” you should know that it refers to Edmond Hoyle (1671-1769), the British gaming authority whose books, updated more or less annually, codified the rules of various games. Editions of Hoyle, beginning around 1850, described the rules of poker and its numerous variants. These books were so influential that “According to Hoyle” has come to mean the ultimate authority on the rules of all kinds of games and contests unrelated to poker. 

For more information about the history of poker, here are some books and articles to check out:

Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker covers the invention of playing cards in China and Korea, their introduction to western Asia and Europe, and the evolution of French poque, Persian As Nas, German Poch, Spanish mus, and English Brag into poker. Beasts of Poker and Poker.com additionally offer excellent overviews of the evolution of online poker.

Poker advice is available in hundreds of books and thousands of articles. Among the best are The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, the Harrington on Hold’em series of primers, as well as primers by Jonathan Little (see also Jonathan Little's website here). There's also Essential Poker Math, by Alton Hardin, the title of which says it all. 

The University of Alberta, meanwhile, is home to one among many university programs where poker is studied by computer scientists, game theory specialists, and researchers in artificial intelligence. If you enjoy this crossover between game play and artificial intelligence, TED-Ed's earlier lesson on the history of chess may also strike your fancy.

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